A strange fluctuation of ocular power spread as a massive, ancient door covered in eerie runes instantly expanded before Yashiro, bridging the gap between illusion and reality!
The terrifying gravitational pressure was violently sucked into the gate like flowing water, and the weight on Yashiro's body lightened instantly. The space behind the gate presented a scene of twisted chaos.
"Hmm?!" A flicker of genuine shock crossed Maeda Kizō's cloudy, old eyes. "An illusion? Space?"
Yashiro's answer was a ruthless counterattack!
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" A massive fire dragon roared as it crashed toward the old man! Simultaneously, Yashiro's figure vanished from the spot, aided by the gate's brief interference with gravity!
Maeda Kizō snorted coldly, his withered fingers forming a complex, ancient seal before his chest.
[Bakudo #75: Gochūtekkan]!
Five massive black iron pillars condensed out of thin air, crashing down toward the incoming fire dragon and the spot where Yashiro had vanished with a momentum that could suppress all things!
Boom—!
The fire dragon was crushed, and the iron pillars slammed into the rune-covered ground, causing the entire secret chamber to shake violently.
Yashiro reappeared in Kizō's blind spot just as the iron pillars crashed down, the Raikiri Chidori condensing in his hand emitting a piercing screech!
"Raikiri!" The azure lightning tore through the gloom beneath the rainy night, stabbing toward Kizō's heart with devastating piercing power!
Maeda Kizō didn't dodge completely; his body twisted strangely to one side while a thick barrier of Spiritual Pressure condensed behind him (Dankū?), the Raikiri pierced the barrier with a tooth-grinding sound of friction and tearing, eventually penetrating most of it and leaving a charred wound on his withered ribs!
"Hmph!" Kizō groaned, a fierce light flashing in his eyes! Such a minor injury was nothing to him, but his fury had been completely ignited!
"Ignorant brat! Let this old man show you what true power is!" He spread his arms as a more terrifying and ancient Spiritual Pressure gathered frantically, and space began to warp behind him as if he were about to summon massive chains connecting to the ancient underworld!
This was clearly an incredibly terrifying starting stance for a Hado or Bakudo! It was shocking that such a decayed body could erupt with such violent power!
Yashiro's pupils constricted sharply, his Sharingan spinning frantically as he felt an unprecedented threat to his life!
In another noble estate not far from the Maeda residence.
The atmosphere here was even more foul and gloomy.
What Ucharia Fugaku faced was a... or rather, "a corpse" of a massive Hollow beast, bound by countless thick, black chains of Spiritual Pressure, slumbering in the center of an altar!
No, it had completely lost the primitive, chaotic nature of a Hollow; it was more like a forbidden creation forcibly twisted and fused with a portion of a Shinigami's power!
The chains on its body were connected to four dying elders kneeling at the four corners of the altar, their spiritual essences nearly drained—the last consecrated elders of the Jinguji Family, subordinates of the Kuchiki branch family.
Using their own lives as a medium, they sustained and controlled this terrifying puppet named "Rotten Bog Giant: Rock Eater"!
When the Onmitsukidō raided the Jinguji residence to eliminate core members, the violent aftershocks of the battle stimulated this slumbering forbidden beast.
Realizing their family was at a moment of life and death, the guardian elders did not hesitate to burn their last drops of essence to release some of the restraints!
"Roar—!!!!" A piercing howl sounded like metal being forcibly torn, accompanied by a thick stench of decay. Rock Eater's massive body broke free from some of the chains, and its three pupil-less giant eyes, dripping with thick yellow-green liquid, locked onto the intruder!
Its body was covered in armor resembling rock and bone, with corrosive black mud flowing through the cracks. A massive claw slammed down, carrying mountain-crushing force and a foul, poisonous gale!
Fugaku's figure looked extremely small under the shadow of the giant claw amidst the storm. Expressionless, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan had already calculated the opponent's slow but heavy attack trajectory to the millimeter!
Activating the Body Flicker Technique, he easily evaded the claw strike!
However, the ground was shattered by the claw, and the splashing foul mud acted like acid rain, instantly covering the area where he had dodged!
"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!" Fugaku formed hand seals and took a deep breath. Violent Chakra mixed with powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted from his mouth!
A waterfall-like tide of orange-red flames, far exceeding the level of an ordinary Jonin, burst forth! It swept through the air like a giant wave, instantly evaporating the incoming toxic mud and slamming into the Rotten Bog Giant's massive body with undiminished force!
Sizzle—!
The flames scorched the mud armor with a terrifying sound, and the air was filled with a pungent stench and the smell of burning! Rock Eater let out a roar of pain as its defenses were easily dismantled by the fire!
"Die!" Fugaku's gaze was cold. Seizing the moment the opponent was stiffened by the fire, his figure vanished again.
When he reappeared, he was already at the giant's relatively fragile neck joint!
The torrential rain of the Soul Society continued to wash over everything, attempting to cleanse the blood of the night, yet allowing the bone-chilling cold to seep into every corner.
Uchiha Izumi stood in a rain-soaked, dilapidated courtyard like a silent piece of obsidian.
Not far in front of her, a female warrior wearing a deep purple haori with a family crest also stopped all unnecessary movements—Kurahashi Maki of the Kurahashi Family, her blade wrapped in a tangible intent to kill.
The two faced off from several yards away, cold rain flowing down their equally cold blades as the oppressive air became almost stagnant.
Kurahashi Maki slowly raised the ancient longsword in her hand, its blade engraved with vine patterns, as rain gathered at the tip.
There was no spiritual fluctuation, nor any form of Shikai incantation—just as Izumi's Sharingan caught the extremely subtle flick of the opponent's wrist!
Hum—!
An invisible, suffocating pressure suddenly descended! It wasn't a release of Spiritual Pressure, but a "slashing intent" purified to the extreme!
It felt like being placed at the edge of a ten-thousand-foot cliff, with falling pebbles sliding into a bottomless abyss and the cold wind of death pouring into every pore! This was a terrifying deterrence imposed by the realm of swordsmanship and mental will, a premonition of "death" originating from the depths of the soul!
"?!" Uchiha Izumi's Three-Tomoe Sharingan trembled violently, her pupils shrinking! Her mental defense, built on a resilient will, was actually shaken by this pure "slashing intent," causing a fatal delay—like hitting black ice while sprinting at high speed!
Kurahashi Maki's blade moved! No longer holding back, it turned into a silver line tearing through the night rain, stabbing straight for Izumi's heart! This strike was faster than thought, pushing the "Issen" secret technique of the Dangai Style to its limit!
At the critical moment!
The spiritual power within Izumi's body boiled! Her Three-Tomoe spun frantically to the limit, forcibly stretching her sense of time! Her vision captured only fragmented lines of light, and her body instinctively followed the fatal trajectory predicted by the Sharingan to twist away—
Puchi!
Blood mixed with cold rain splashed onto the mud.
Izumi's left shoulder was pierced! The violent sword qi passed through her body, tearing a deep gouge into the broken wall behind her! Intense pain spread, and her left arm nearly lost all sensation.
But the threat of death instead ignited a fire like a frozen hell in her eyes! The Three-Tomoe of the Sharingan rapidly merged into one—
Hum—!
A deep, dark Spiritual Pressure erupted! Like a swamp swallowing light, the rain within several meters of Izumi weirdly avoided her, forming a distorted domain of shadows—
"Sink... Yūmeido!"
A massive black sphere domain instantly expanded, stripping away senses and multiplying gravity!
Kurahashi Maki felt her feet sink into invisible mud, every breath becoming as heavy as lead.
Her golden eyes narrowed slightly: "A domain-type Zanpakuto? You have some skill!" She held the ancient blade across her body, her aura pulling inward like a tensed bowstring, relying on a swordmaster's intuition to track Izumi in the darkness.
The battle between Izumi and Kurahashi Maki had reached a fever pitch.
Within the shadow-binding domain, Kurahashi Maki relied on her tempered sword heart to resist the heavy pressure, her blade light tearing through the thick darkness like a venomous snake!
She suddenly accelerated, the tip of her blade aimed straight at Izumi's throat!
Meanwhile, in the other two battlefields, the fighting had also reached its climax!
At the Jinguji residence.
"Roar—!!!" The Rotten Bog Giant: Rock Eater let out a painful howl under Fugaku's ferocious Lightning Release: Kirin strike, a terrifying hole blasted into its mud-armored body!
Don't be surprised that the Uchiha Clan knows these Lightning Release techniques like Kirin and Raikiri; they were all developed under Hiroki's guidance.
There were also Rasengan, Wind Release: Rasengan, and so on, though no one can use them yet.
Most Uchiha members have Fire and Lightning affinities.
Foul blood gushed out like a fountain! The four Jinguji elders controlling it spat out blood simultaneously, their life force instantly withering by more than half!
Their lives were like candles in the wind, their strength being violently drained by the puppet's wound!
"A deathbed struggle!" Uchiha Fugaku's figure flashed through the fragments of the giant's collapsing body and the corrosive toxic mist!
His target was those core elders! His Three-Tomoe Sharingan was cold and indifferent, and he struck without mercy, intending to completely eliminate the source of pollution before the opponent could ignite their final trump card!
At the Maeda residence.
"Galarala..." Under the forced spatial teleportation of Yashiro's Mangekyo ocular technique [Otogiba], Maeda Kizō was forcibly moved to the edge of the room! His terrifying Bakudo, which had been built up to its peak and was enough to tear space, was interrupted by this bizarre ability!
The old man let out a roar like dry bones rubbing together, his cloudy eyes filled with unbelievable rage!
"Brat! You're looking for death!!" Kizō's withered body erupted with even more terrifying Spiritual Pressure, his dry hands slamming together as a massive ancient character for "Prison" condensed before him, radiating an aura that could suppress eternity!
He wanted to completely seal and crush this young man with the strange ocular technique along with his bizarre gate!
Uchiha Yashiro gasped for air, the enormous burden of forcibly using the Mangekyo making his vision blur.
But a bloody, crazed smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Facing that seal capable of locking heaven and earth, the Mangekyo pattern in his eyes once again bloomed with an eerie light!
"Old man, let's see who dies first!"
Meanwhile, the intense clash of Spiritual Pressure had already alerted the entire Seireitei.
One after another, powerful Captain-level auras streaked through the rain like signal flares, converging rapidly toward the southwestern noble district!
On the outskirts of the street closest to the conflict zone.
"Stop!" Soi Fon's petite figure appeared like a suddenly solidified spatial anchor in front of a support squad led by a Vice-Captain that was racing toward the center!
Her Spiritual Pressure instantly expanded like sharp needles, forming a tough, invisible barrier that stopped the team in its tracks!
Her eyes were cold as blades, devoid of emotion: "The Onmitsukidō and the Sixth Division are conducting a joint emergency purge mission! Any division is forbidden from entering the restricted area! Violators will be dealt with for interfering with military affairs!"
On the other side, closer to the core area, Shisui of the Body Flicker appeared like a ghost before a Captain who had just arrived with a suspicious expression.
"Captain Kyoraku Shunsui, please stop!" Shisui's voice was serious as he stood on the high point of a roof, his dark shinigami uniform fluttering in the rain.
"Sixth Division Vice-Captain Uchiha Shisui! Reporting on Captain Hiroki's orders: An armed noble rebellion has broken out in this area, and the Sixth Division is conducting an emergency response in coordination with the Onmitsukidō! To avoid accidental injury or interference with the investigation, please have yourself and your division set up a defensive perimeter outside the area! A detailed report will be submitted to the Captain-Commander and Central 46 immediately after dawn!"
"Oh my, oh my... what a bother..." Kyoraku Shunsui sighed.
"Please understand."
"And if... I say no?"
Just as Captain Kyoraku Shunsui's words—half-casual and half-meaningful—fell, an invisible pressure permeated the air, which seemed to instantly become thick and cold.
The atmosphere fell into a state of stagnation.
Beside Shisui, the members wearing the Second Division's Onmitsukidō uniforms, responsible for assisting with the guard, reacted with a speed etched into their very bones.
Their bodies swayed slightly, and in the same millisecond, they issued silent commands. Their previously lowered weapons—whether Zanpakuto or specialized daggers—were already in a standby posture.
The killing intent surged as their sharp gazes locked onto the Eighth Division group through their masks. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, like precision killing machines instantly activated, entering combat mode immediately.
In stark contrast to them were the ordinary members of the Eighth Division behind Shunsui.
The conflict between their Captain and the Sixth Division Vice-Captain caught them off guard, their expressions a mix of shock, confusion, and a hint of instinctive wariness.
They subconsciously wanted to look at their Captain's reaction while also wanting to follow their usual combat training. Their movements showed obvious delay and hesitation; a few even shifted their feet, unsure whether to step forward to protect or step back to give space, looking somewhat at a loss.
There wasn't a single ripple in Shisui's clear eyes, which were as calm as a deep, ancient well.
He fully accepted Captain Shunsui's banter and the hidden pressure beneath it. His tone remained respectful, but his words carried the weight of a thousand pounds:
"Then please, step over my body."
"Heh... young people these days are truly terrifying..." Shunsui chuckled again, the smile on his face deepening, but there was no longer any relaxation in that smile. Instead, it was filled with the excitement and solemnity of meeting a powerful opponent.
He spoke no more, his right thumb lightly flicking the tsuba of the blade at his waist. With a crisp sound of unsheathing and a sudden burst of powerful Spiritual Pressure, the pair of uniquely shaped Zanpakuto were firmly gripped in his hands.
"Everyone, stay back. Let me test the strength of the Sixth Division's Vice-Captain."
As his last word fell, the already stagnant air seemed to be torn apart by a sharp blade.
Without any declaration, the clash between the two top-tier Shinigami was about to begin!